To say 2020 was a little different from previous years would be just about the biggest understatement you could make. People’s lives were turned upside down and the entire world was brought to its knees because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With that said, at Computrols, we did our best to adapt to the situation at hand and came out stronger than ever before.

AHR Expo 2020

Before the pandemic took hold in the U.S., Computrols exhibited at the AHR Expo for the first time in over a decade. The trade show was held at the Orlando Convention Center where Computrols booth staff performed live demonstrations with our Computrols flagship CBAS software and lifetime-warranty controllers.

The Launch of CBAS 20

Computrols Building Automation Software (CBAS) has been empowering building operators to manage their BAS in-house since the early ’90s, and in 2020, received a much-needed facelift to its user interface. In addition to the new, sleek dark theme, CBAS 20 also brought users dual monitor support and additional functionality in Text View, among other features.

Welcoming New Distribution Partners

Computrols Distribution Partner Family grew by 10 fantastic new distributors this year, adding on a combination of mechanical, controls, and electrical contractors, many of which had not previously offered controls. Computrols Distribution Partner support team worked diligently to get each new partner up to speed on our solutions and provide sales and marketing support despite travel limitations. We are excited to call the below companies new partners of Computrols in 2020.

• Ranor Mechanical
• Allied Plumbing, Air, and Electric
• Tri-Star Mechanical
• Pro Cooling
• Thayer Corp.
• Precision Mechanical
• Oldach AC and Refrigeration
• Air-Tec
• Building Automation System Integrators
• Triple G Enterprise

2020 Virtual Distribution Partner Summit

Our annual Distribution Partner Summit is typically held at our headquarters and manufacturing facility and includes updates from our R&D team on new products, a refresher of what support we provide our partners, team dinners at some of New Orleans’ favorite eateries, and a couple of fun activities. In a year that was anything but typical, we took the summit virtual and sent our partners customized snack baskets for them to chew on while we brought them up to speed on our latest developments.

Pushing through the Pandemic

When the reality set in that our world and industry would be changing for the foreseeable future, our team quickly began to look at ways we could pivot our business to better support our partners and customers.

With travel and in-person interaction reduced to a minimum, we quickly moved our CBAS Level I and CBAS Level II training courses online. Although there were some lessons to be learned on how to effectively conduct remote training, our team has taken those lessons and improved on each course throughout the year.

In early April, we began hosting round tables with customers and partners to brainstorm ways in which we could safely return people to their buildings. Everyone involved found the discussions so helpful, we held a public webinar in a similar format titled: Re-Occupying Buildings During COVID-19. We also provided support through articles like 5 Virus Mitigation Strategies using your Building Automation System and webinars about Indoor Air Quality and COVID-19.

Realizing that one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when getting people back into buildings would simply be providing the peace of mind that it is safe, Computrols rolled out our latest feature in CBAS Web, known as Storyboards. Where Storyboards differentiates itself from your run-of-the-mill dashboard is in the education aspect. This customizable solution gives building operators the ability to show the efforts they are taking to make their buildings safe, the data indicating its effectiveness, and short explanations so building occupants better understand the particulars.

Onward and Upward

With vaccine distribution underway, we are all hoping for a happier, healthier, and more successful 2021, but we could not end this year without thanking our employees, customers, partners, and vendors for their comradery and support through a very difficult time. We are not out of the woods yet, but we look forward to continuing to fight side by side with each of you to make the environments that we live, work, learn, and play in smart, secure, healthy, and efficient.